Bessemer Group Inc. Raises Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,809 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $3,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after buying an additional 4,370 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in American Electric Power by 436.9% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 5,771 shares in the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,081 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.77.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $104.63 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.16 and a 1-year high of $110.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.24 and a 200 day moving average of $99.30. The company has a market capitalization of $55.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

American Electric Power Profile

American Electric Power Company, Inc, an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments.